There has been much written about the many heroes of Gettysburg, and for his sacrifice and dedication, a Worcester man deserves to be on that list.

Col. George Hull Ward of the 15th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment died July 3, 1863, in a hospital near where he fell on Cemetery Ridge the day before. His memory lives on in a painting that hangs in the Worcester Historical Museum and in a large collection of often touching letters between him and his wife, Emily.

Col. Ward was the definition of dedication. He fought the battle with only one leg, still suffering greatly from a wound two years earlier that left him with an unhealed stump of a left leg. As the battle raged, he got off his horse and stood, propped up with his sword, leading his troops in a desperate holding action to keep the Union Army from being overrun. He fell, struck in his one good leg, and bled from a severed artery for two hours. His half-brother, Henry Ward, found him and carried him to a hospital.

“I searched all over the battlefield, amid shells and balls, hunting for him,” Henry Ward wrote. “We got him to the hospital about dark. He was insensible, but the surgeon gave him whiskey, which revived him and he said to the doctor, 'I shall not live two hours.' After this his mind was wandering and he imagined himself at the head of the brigade, commanding troops and urging them to fight bravely. He died Friday morning at daylight.”

Five days before his death, Col. Ward wrote to his wife, “The time has now come for action. A vigorous and earnest prosecution of the war is inevitable, and the quiet slumbers of the people of the north will get most shockingly disturbed, I am afraid, unless they rally en masse to check the progress of the rebs who are now invading the north.”

After Col. Ward's death, Lt. Col. George C. Joslin of Leominster took command of the regiment for the rest of the battle.

Robyn Christensen, librarian of the Worcester Historical Society, said Col. Ward did not need to be there. He had already paid a full measure of duty for the Union when he lost his left leg in the Battle of Balls Bluff, Va., in 1861.

Although he was safe at home recovering from his wounds and still serving his regiment through recruiting, a few months before the battle he mounted his horse and returned to the regiment. He went against the advice of family and friends, leaving behind Emily and two children.

When he was wounded at Ball's Bluff, his wife wrote that she would rush to his side. He urged her to stay home with the children.

“He recuperated for several months and then he came home,” Ms. Christensen said. “You could tell in (Emily's) letters that she was relieved that he had done his duty, that he'd lost his leg for his country and he was coming home. She must not have been happy when she found out he wanted to go back.”

Ms. Christensen said it is likely he saw his regiment fighting in major battles and felt duty-bound to be there.

“Especially with Antietam and everyone was talking about the gallant 15th,” she said. “They were getting quite a name for themselves.”

At Antietam the regiment lost 318 men, killed or wounded, in 27 minutes.

Based on later letters, Col. Ward realized returning to duty was a mistake and he made an effort to get the 15th reassigned to duty where he would not have to travel as much by horse. No reassignment was issued before Gettysburg.

When he died, Col. Ward was 37 years old. His body was shipped home to Worcester, where he was buried in Rural Cemetery.

The monument that marks his grave has since been vandalized. A bronze bust of Col. Ward that topped the monument has since been stolen.

Mrs. Ward never remarried and was active in veterans activities for the rest of her life. She died in 1917.

The Worcester Grand Army of the Republic Post is named after Col. Ward. There is also a monument to him at Gettysburg.

“He is the only individual to have a monument dedicated to him at Gettysburg,” Ms. Christensen said.

The Battle of Gettysburg raged over three days from July 1 through July 3, 1863. In the thick of it was the 15th Massachusetts Regiment commanded by Col. Hull. By the end of the battle, the Union Army had lost 3,155 killed, 14,530 wounded and 5,365 missing. The Confederate Army lost 2,600 to 4,500 killed, 12,800 wounded and 5,250 missing.

It was one of the bloodiest battles in American history and a turning point in the Civil War. A letter home from John E. Anderson, a 26-year-old bookkeeper from West Boylston, told of the horror in simple terms.

“We had a terrible battle at Gettysburg,” he wrote. “The fighting lasted three days and the carnage was difficult to witness. Before the struggle was over I was tired of the sound of battle.”

Mr. Anderson wrote that the battle finished on the night of July 3, and on July 4 the survivors buried their dead.

“After the battle was over, I took a stroll over the field and we saw the enemy's dead,” he wrote. “It was a horrible sight and made me sick at heart.”

Among the troops buried was Capt. Hans P. Jorgenson of Leominster, a Danish immigrant who took up arms for his adopted land. Ms. Christensen said he was quite a character. An article about his funeral noted his willingness to fight for his adopted country. He too had already paid his dues, having been wounded twice in the Prussian Army and, like Col. Hull, at Ball's Bluff.

Before Gettysburg, Capt. Jorgensen prophesied in a letter, “There is no doubt as to the result of this battle. Give my love to all my friends and then tell them the old Fifteenth is still gaining laurels and by the time we get home we shall be completely covered in glory.”

Also killed at Gettysburg was Pvt. George L. Boss of Fitchburg. His brother Orlando Boss would continue to fight and be awarded the Medal of Honor for actions at the Battle of Cold Harbor.

Other Central Massachusetts residents killed at Gettysburg included Cpl. George Fletcher of Northbridge; 1st Sgt. George N. Wheelock of Barre; Sgt. William Brandes of Webster, a German immigrant; Orman Stevens of Dudley and Pvt. Thomas Horn of Dudley.

Also killed was John March of Fitchburg, a palm leaf splitter; Pvt. Patrick Coyle of Blackstone, who had previously been a prisoner after Ball's Bluff; Cpl. William Oakley of Worcester; Francis Lewis of Sterling; Cpl. James P. Chenery of Clinton; Pvt. Joseph Bardsley of Grafton, who had been wounded at Antietam, and Sgt. Edward Rollins of Leominster.

Contact George Barnes at gbarnes@telegram.com. Follow him on Twitter @georgebarnesTG